[It was a custom with Gifford and some youthful associates to act plays at which persons were admitted gratis. On one occasion, just before the play was to begin, a person proposed writing a prologue; on which Gifford, without any hesitation, quickly scribbled out one, of which the following lines are apart:—]
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No Garrick here majestic treads the
stage;
No Quin, your whole attention to
engage;
No practised actors here the scene employs,
But a small number of raw girls and boys.
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As when some peasant, who, to treat his lord,
Brings out his little stock and decks his board
With what his ill-stored cupboard will afford,
With awkward bows, and ill-placed rustic airs,
To make excuses for his feast prepares,
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| 116 | AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. |
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So here I stand, all trembling in your sight,
Come to behold the audience of to-night;
And, conscious of its meanness, hardly dare
To bid you welcome to our homely fare.
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Would you, ye fair ones, in our cause appear,
Your looks would silence every critic here;
If you but smile, ’twill cheer our tim’rous hearts,
And give us courage to perform our parts.
Since then to please you has been all our care,
Bear kindly with us, and attentive hear.
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